Login

ISEO – Inaugural Conference July 22nd & 23rd 2026 - organized by DKFZ

22–23 Jul 2026
Heidelberg Congress Center
Europe/Berlin timezone

Organizing Team

Association between physical activity and mortality among breast cancer survivors

Not scheduled
30m
Heidelberg Congress Center

Heidelberg Congress Center

Czernyring 20 69115 Heidelberg Germany
1 - Scientific Poster Poster Session

Speaker

Nuria Nadal Zaragoza (Unit of Nutrition and Cancer, Cancer Epidemiology Research Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-ICO, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain /Nutrition and Cancer Group, Epidemiology, Public Health, Cancer Prevention and Palliative Care Program, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain/Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum /Programa de doctorat d’Alimentació i Nutrició, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l’Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.)

Description

Purpose:
It is known that a greater physical activity (PA) reduces the risk of breast cancer (BC). Nevertheless, there is still limited evidence about what role PA may play in the prognosis of the disease. The aim of this study was to assess the association of pre- and postdiagnosis PA with overall and BC-specific mortality among BC survivors.
Methods:
A total of 13,399 BC survivors from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study were included. During the follow-up period (average 8.6 years) 2,380 women died, of whom 1,480 from BC. The main exposure was an overall measure of PA derived from a PA index (PA at work and leisure-time activities). We further analysed recreational PA (walking, cycling and sport activities). A subset of 2,023 survivors completed a second questionnaire within a 6-month to 4-year postdiagnosis. Multivariable Cox and Fine-Gray models were employed to evaluate the association of PA with overall and BC-specific mortality respectively, adjusted for relevant confounders.
Results:
BC survivors who were physically active before diagnosis had a 14% lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR 0.86, 95% CI: 0.78-0.95), and 12% lower risk of BC-specific mortality (HR 0.88, 95% CI: 0.77-1.00). PA postdiagnosis was associated with a lower risk of overall and BC-specific mortality of 43% (HR 0.57, 95% CI: 0.44-0.75) and 52% (HR 0.48, 95% CI: 0.34-0.68), respectively. A significant lower risk of mortality was also observed among those who practiced recreational PA after diagnosis. Women who became active at postdiagnosis had lower risk of overall mortality (HR 0.48, 95% CI 0.27-0.83) and BC-specific mortality (HR 0.35, 95% CI 0.16-0.74).
Conclusion:
Being physically active (pre- and postdiagnosis) reduces the risk of mortality among BC survivors. Additionally, changes towards higher levels of PA seem to have also positive impact on survival.

Keywords

Breast Cancer, Physical Activity, Survival, Prospective study

Abstract submitters declaration yes
Conflict of Interest & Ethical Approval yes

Author

Nuria Nadal Zaragoza (Unit of Nutrition and Cancer, Cancer Epidemiology Research Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-ICO, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain /Nutrition and Cancer Group, Epidemiology, Public Health, Cancer Prevention and Palliative Care Program, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain/Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum /Programa de doctorat d’Alimentació i Nutrició, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l’Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.)

Co-authors

Ms Catalina Bonet (Unit of Nutrition and Cancer, Cancer Epidemiology Research Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-ICO, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain./ Nutrition and Cancer Group, Epidemiology, Public Health, Cancer Prevention and Palliative Care Program, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.) Dr Carlota Castro-Espin (International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization, Lyon, France.) Dr Casimiro Javierre (Departament de Ciències Fisiològiques, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.) Dr Christian S. Antoniussen (Department of Public Health, Aarhus University.) Dr Christina C. Dahm (Department of Public Health, Aarhus University.) Dr Pascal Guénel (Paris-Saclay University, UVSQ, Inserm, Gustave Roussy, CESP, Villejuif, France.) Dr Fanny Artaud (Paris-Saclay University, UVSQ, Inserm, Gustave Roussy, CESP, Villejuif, France.) Dr Agnès Fournier (Paris-Saclay University, UVSQ, Inserm, Gustave Roussy, CESP, Villejuif, France.) Dr Renée Turzanski Fortner (Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany. / Department of Research, Cancer Registry of Norway, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.) Dr Verena Katzke (Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.) Dr Matthias B. Schulze (German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany. / Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Nuthetal, Germany) Ms Giovanna Masala (Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Institute for cancer research, prevention and clinical network (ISPRO) Florence, Italy) Dr Valeria Pala (Epidemiology and Prevention Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano Via Venezian, 1. 20133 Milan, Italy) Dr Vittorio Simeon (Medical Statistics Unit, University of Naples, Italy) Dr Rosario Tumino (Hyblean Association for Epidemiology Research, AIRE ONLUS Ragusa, Italy) Mr Matteo Franco (Centre for Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health (C-BEPH), Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, 10043 Orbassano, Italy.) Dr Daniel Redondo-Sánchez (Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), 18011 Granada, Spain / Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, 18012 Granada, Spain / Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain) Dr María-Dolores Chirlaque (Department of Epidemiology, Regional Health Council, IMIB-Arrixaca, Murcia University, Murcia, Spain. / Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain) Dr Marcela Guevara (Instituto de Salud Pública y Laboral de Navarra, 31003 Pamplona, Spain / Navarra Institute for Health Research (IdiSNA), 31008 Pamplona, Spain / Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain) Dr Sandar Tin Tin (Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Oxford Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK) Dr Elisabete Weiderpass (International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization, Lyon, France.) Dr Laure Dossus (International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization, Lyon, France.) Dr Heinz Freisling (International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization, Lyon, France.) Dr Dagfinn Aune (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place, Paddington, London, UK / Department of Nutrition, Oslo New University College, Oslo, Norway / Department of Research, Cancer Registry of Norway, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway) Dr Konstantinos K Tsilidis (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place, Paddington, London, UK / Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece) Dr Marc Gunter (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place, Paddington, London, UK) Dr Marta Crous-Bou (Unit of Nutrition and Cancer, Cancer Epidemiology Research Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-ICO, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. / Nutrition and Cancer Group, Epidemiology, Public Health, Cancer Prevention and Palliative Care Program, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. / Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA) Dr Antonio Agudo (Unit of Nutrition and Cancer, Cancer Epidemiology Research Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-ICO, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. / Nutrition and Cancer Group, Epidemiology, Public Health, Cancer Prevention and Palliative Care Program, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.)

Presentation materials

There are no materials yet.